


Take it Easy, Red

by SylverFletcher



Series: Carmen and Player being best friends and crime buddies fight me let my kids be happy [1]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 13:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17550665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SylverFletcher/pseuds/SylverFletcher
Summary: After her crushing defeat at the hands of Coach Brunt, Carmen's friends scramble to find a place she can rest safely. But when she wakes up, she doesn't know where she is or who she's with, until their voice turns out to be all too familiar.





	Take it Easy, Red

**Author's Note:**

> guys I am OBSESSED with this show. I binged the entire thing in one night and I love it to death and I love Player and I love their friendship and just. dear god. give me more of this show I nEED IT

She didn’t remember passing out, high above the skyline. She didn’t remember much of the escape from the fateful encounter with her former mother figure. She barely remembered the conversation with her savior. And once he disappeared, she didn’t remember anything at all.

She didn’t know how worried she’d left Player, when her voice trailed off and she faded into a beaten and exhausted unconsciousness. His frantic voice, calling her name through her earpiece and met with no reply. She couldn’t know the way he’d gone panicked at his desk, his hands shaking and his voice a cracking mess by the time he got Ivy on the phone.

No, she didn’t know any of that, nor did she know the gut wrenching feeling of concern once her friends had tracked her down to her hidden perch. The way they fawned over her, afraid for her safety, wondering if it was even safe for them to move her. Never before had she been beaten down, hurt and defeated yes, but crushed and nearly killed was new to all of them. And none of her friends quite knew how to handle it, not when they were so used to seeing her brush everything off and continue on without flinching.

All the same, they did the best they could. They chose what they thought would be the safest place for her to rest and heal, without fear that anyone would ever be able to figure out where she was, no matter how far away it was.

* * *

 

Carmen woke up slowly, lost and completely disoriented. Everything was dark, too dark, but it was a blessing on her pounding head. The air was stale, musty and cold, like it hadn’t seen sunlight in ages. Her vision swam when she tried to look around, and anything more than a few feet ahead was blurred in the darkness, even in the place a few feet away that was lit by blue light. She couldn’t tell what anything was, or how she got here, and that realization sent a rush of panic over her.

She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t remember how she got here. And that was  _ bad. _ Anyone could have her, trapped here under their thumb. She wasn’t someone who could afford to not know, to let their guard down. Someone was constantly after her, wishing doom upon her, and waking up somewhere with no memory of getting there was not something she needed.

Especially not once the memory of her defeat trickled into her hazy mind. Of being trapped, with nowhere to turn, no one to help, no plans and no tools, being left unable to fight back as she was crushed. Harder and harder, air forced from her lungs and pain blooming under the pressure, and a sure thought that she was going to die there.

Not to mention that Player heard every second of it, equally as powerless.

Lurching upright, the thief ignored the way her head spun, or the way her entire torso burned with pain. Agony shot right through her ribs and she gritted her teeth against it, determined to find a way out. She had to find her friends, she had to keep going. She couldn’t afford to stop.

“Whoa, Red.” Player’s voice filtered in through the haze, and a tremendous weight lifted from her in that instant. She was  _ so relieved _ to hear him, to know he was still there, that she wasn’t alone in this strange place. “Take it easy.”

“I can’t,” She gasped out, forcing her voice to be even and trying to sound fine. Gritting her teeth harder and steeling herself, she found the floor and determinedly pushed herself to stand, completely ignoring the screeching feeling in her body. She was fine. She could do this. “I need to--”

Hands met her shoulders, sparking fear through her. She still couldn’t see well, everything fuzzy and blurred and dark, and she had no idea who this was, but she wasn’t strong enough to fight someone right now. Her muscles were burning, screaming, only getting worse as she tried to struggle and push the person away. All of her agility was gone, she was defenseless, cornered, she was right back in the same situation she’d been in before. “Red, Red! Carmen!” Player’s voice could do nothing to help her, nothing to remove the firm hands that hadn’t budged from her shoulders, or stop her from collapsing back onto the bed, her legs too weak to hold her any longer. She was a wreck, she couldn’t do anything. Alarm bells were going off in her head left and right, her fear mounting ever higher as it became clear she wouldn’t be going anywhere.

The hands disappeared from her shoulders, and for a split second the thief debated her chances on trying to dodge away. But then they returned, cradling each side of her face so gently and thumbs wiping away tears she hadn’t even realized she’d let escape, and she could only freeze. Player’s voice filtered back in again, his tone low and soothing, and the face right in front of hers slowly came into proper focus.

And in that moment, she became distinctly aware that her earpiece was gone.

“You don’t have to be strong all the time. You’re hurt. You went through a lot. You’re in a  _ lot _ of pain. Just, rest for once, okay? Everything is fine. I’ve got you.”

In all the time she’d known him, Carmen had never heard Player’s voice in person before. Without the slight distortion through a mic and speaker, hearing him for the first time completely clearly. Nor had she ever seen his face in person, no, she’d never seen his face before  _ at all. _ She couldn’t be sure that was who she was really looking at, but her earpiece was gone, his mouth was moving, and she could hear  _ his _ voice so clearly.

It had to be him.

Her oldest friend, her partner in crime, the person she’d never met in the flesh before. Always linked only by a couple of devices and separated sometimes by the entirety of the earth, never a chance to truly meet with all they had to do first.

And now, finally, here he was. Cradling her face, worry and care written across every inch of his own, the hat and headset he was wearing so  _ completely _ him that she almost wanted to laugh. She’d never seen him before, and yet, his looks fit his voice and personality so completely she never could have guessed on her own.

She didn’t care that everything hurt. Her arms snaked around him and yanked him close, hugging her long time friend with a force that could only come from the kind of close despite the distance relationship they had. It left her seeing stars from the pain, but she still didn’t care. He was here. Physically here, right with her, when she needed him most.

She’d been defeated in the worst way, crushed and only surviving from a freak string of luck. Everything hurt, physically and emotionally, and the nagging guilt that she needed to get up and  _ keep going _ and not let anything stop her, had not gone away. But right now, right here, finally with her best friend, Carmen was okay with resting for awhile. Everything was fine. Player was here.

She wasn’t alone.

**Author's Note:**

> also I was gonna post this to ffn too but there's no category for the reboot on there yet lmao I hate getting into a brand new fandom that isn't even established yet


End file.
